[单项选择]

For many years, unemployment in the United States was lower than in Western Europe, a fact often cited by people who argued that the flexibility inherent in the American system—it is easier to both hire and fire workers than in many European countries—produced more jobs.
That is no longer the case. The current economic crisis has turned the case for the U.S. model almost entirely on its head.
In March, the American unemployment rate stood at 8.5 percent, the same as the average rate for the first 15 members of the European Union. In April, the rate in the United States rose to 8.9 percent. When the European figures are compiled, it seems likely that the American rate will be higher for the first time since Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical agency, began publishing unemployment rates in 1993 for the entire European Union and for three countries outside the union, the United States, Japan and Turkey.
For men, the unemployment rate
A. Because the economy was more developed in the United States than in Western Europe.
B. Because it’s easier to employ workers in the United States.
C. Because the flexible American system generated more job opportunities.
D. Because America put more effort into creating new jobs.